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IKEA Turns the Page: Drops Iconic Catalogue After 70 Years

People queue at Ikea in Gateshead as it re-opens, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Gateshead, Britain, June 1, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith/File Photo
People queue at Ikea in Gateshead as it re-opens, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Gateshead, Britain, June 1, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith/File Photo
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IKEA Turns the Page: Drops Iconic Catalogue After 70 Years

People queue at Ikea in Gateshead as it re-opens, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Gateshead, Britain, June 1, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith/File Photo
People queue at Ikea in Gateshead as it re-opens, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Gateshead, Britain, June 1, 2020. REUTERS/Lee Smith/File Photo

Budget furniture giant IKEA has decided to discontinue its catalogue, one of the world’s biggest annual publications, as shoppers move online, it said on Monday.

The 70-year old publication reached a peak in 2016 when more than 200 million copies were distributed to households and IKEA stores in more than 50 markets.

Its very first edition, featuring the MK Wing Chair, totalled 285,000 copies and was distributed in southern Sweden, while the last one, from this year, has an edition of 40 million.

The move is part of IKEA’s push to become more digital as consumers increasingly seek inspiration online, as well as shopping via the web. In the 12 months to end-August, IKEA’s online sales jumped 45%..

“The number of copies has gone down, but we have also seen that people have much more used our website, apps and social media. The catalogue became less and less important,” said Konrad Gruss, Managing Director at franchisor Inter IKEA Systems - a division of brand owner Inter IKEA Group.

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Cute carnivores: Bloodthirsty California Squirrels Go Nuts for Vole Meat

This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
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Cute carnivores: Bloodthirsty California Squirrels Go Nuts for Vole Meat

This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP
This handout photo obtained from the University of California on December 18, 2024, shows ground squirrels eating voles in Davis, California. Sonja Wild / University of California, Davis/AFP

Squirrels might look like adorable, nut-hoarding furballs, but some are ruthless predators that hunt, tear apart, and devour voles.
That's the startling finding of a new study published Wednesday in the Journal of Ethology -- the first to document widespread carnivorous behavior in these seemingly innocent creatures.
"There is always something new to learn and wild animals continue to surprise us," lead author Jennifer E. Smith, an associate professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire told AFP.
"In a changing world with many technological advances, there is no replacement for direct observation of natural history, including watching the squirrels and birds that often visit our backyards."
The observations were made this summer, during the 12th year of a long-term study conducted at Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County, California.
Between June and July, researchers recorded 74 interactions involving California ground squirrels and voles, with 42 percent of them involving active hunting of their fellow rodents.
Co-author Sonja Wild, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis, admitted she was initially skeptical of the reports brought to her by undergraduate students who first witnessed the behavior.
"I could barely believe my eyes," said Wild. But "once we started looking, we saw it everywhere."
It was previously known that as many as 30 species of squirrels opportunistically consume meat, ranging from small fish to birds. However, it was unclear whether this behavior stemmed from scavenging or active predation.
The new study is the first to confirm that hunting is, in fact, a common behavior.
Researchers observed squirrels crouching low to the ground before ambushing their prey, though more often, they chased voles, pounced, and delivered a neck bite followed by vigorous shaking.
The study also found that the squirrels' carnivorous behavior peaked during the first two weeks of July, coinciding with a surge in vole populations reported by citizen scientists on the iNaturalist app.
Other animals, such as raccoons, coyotes, and spotted hyenas, have been known to adapt their hunting strategies in response to human-induced changes in their environments.
"In a changing world, it can be daunting to consider all of the challenges that human presence, habitat loss, and climate change impose on animals," said Smith.
"Our study offers an exciting silver lining, demonstrating the incredible flexibility that some animals possess."
Several questions still remain unanswered.
Researchers hope to investigate how widespread hunting behavior is among squirrel species, whether it is passed down from parents to pups, and how it affects their broader ecosystems.